Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to play UFC champion in new A24 movie from Uncut Gems’ Benny Safdie

The biopic of MMA fighter Mark Kerr will be titled ‘The Smashing Machine’

Dwayne Johnson will play MMA fighter and UFC pioneer Mark Kerr in A24’s forthcoming biopic, The Smashing Machine.

The film will be written and directed by Benny Safdie, who previously co-wrote and co-directed Uncut Gems, one of the independent studio’s biggest commercial successes to date.

Kerr is a former wrestler who competed as a mixed martial artist between 1997 and 2009. During his MMA career, he was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, and a Pride FC competitor.

He was previously the subject of a 2003 HBO documentary, also titled The Smashing Machine after Kerr’s longtime nickname. The new film will reportedly take place around the turn of the millennium and will follow Kerr’s struggles with love and addiction as well as his exploits in the ring.

In a statement shared with Deadline, A24 acquisition executive Noah Sacco said: “Dwayne and Benny are singular talents, and their shared vision for Mark’s inspiring story is electrifying. We are deeply honored to have their trust as collaborators in bringing this incredibly special project to life.”

Johnson made his name as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star The Rock before launching his acting career.

Dwayne Johnson shakes hands with U.S. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the Capitol Building on 15 November 2023 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

He has gone on to become one of Hollywood’s highest-paid celebrities with his influence spreading all the way to the US senate. Last month, Johnson visited Capitol Hill in Washington DC, meeting Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin.

According to staff, the actor discussed military recruitment efforts and the XFL, a football league partially owned by Johnson.

The US Capitol Police also shared a photo with the caption: “We talked to a potential new recruit today... and we think he will pass the fitness test.”

Johnson previously revealed that he has been approached by several political parties to ask if he’d consider running for US President in 2024.

In 2021, the 51-year-old Fast and Furious star was the subject of a political poll, in which 46 per cent of US adults said they would support the actor’s presidential campaign.

“That was an interesting poll that happened and I was really moved by that,” the Moana actor told Trevor Noah’s What Now? podcast. “I was really blown away and I was really honoured. I’ll share this little bit with you: at the end of the year in 2022, I got a visit from the parties asking me if I was going to run, and if I could run.”

The Independent’s Eric Garcia wrote that the people’s champion could become the people’s president should he stage a White House run. After all, “just look at some of the Jabronis we have now”.